Best of the Web

A treasure trove of full-text primary sources spanning 500 years of American History. Speeches, treaties, Supreme Court decisions, declarations of war, and other key documents are arranged chronologically in a simple list, making it easy to find the primary source you need.

Full-text documents in the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government. The site has a search feature and is organized by century and then alphabetically by the name of the document.

Yale University's Project Avalon makes available in digital format full text documents in the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. This phenomenal resource includes documents as varied as the ancient Code of Hammurabi, the Communist Manifesto, and the Treaty of Versailles.

From the Sally Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, this website provides links to primary sources that pertain to women and the Civil War. These documents were taken from the Duke University's Special Collections Libraries, then transcribed and scanned onto the Internet.

Collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use. Find primary sources in ancient, medieval and modern history as well as African, East Asian, Islamic, Jewish, Lesbian and Gay, Science, and Women's history. This is a wonderful site for primary sources on the Internet.

Materials accessible here are Cornell University Library's contributions to Making of America (MOA), a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts.

Cornell University's contributions to the digital library of primary sources in American social history. The MOA is a collaborative effort of Cornell University and the University of Michigan to preserve and provide electronic access to historical texts covering the period from the antebellum through reconstruction. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints from Cornell's collections.

The National Archives "ensures, for citizens and federal officials, ready access to essential evidence that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of federal officials, and the national experience." This incomparable site provides access to millions of documentary treasures including the Charters of Freedom, the Apollo 11 Flight Plan, photographs spanning a century of life in America, and posters from World War II, to name just a few.